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Already having recused herself from 11 cases, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has disqualified herself from 10 more cases to be argued beginning October 4th.  Kagan’s confirmation was historical; she brought the total of women to three, the most women on the Supreme Court in history, and she is also the youngest member.
Largely, the original cases Justice Kagan had excused herself from were cases upon which she was counsel of record as solicitor general before her confirmation in early August.  This newer group of 10 cases represent ones Kagan had been involved in in their earlier stages.  Two of the cases she will not participate in which she has signed no-participation slips are Premo v. Moore and County of Los Angeles v. Humphries.
In a letter to Alabama’s Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, Kagan wrote, “If I personally reviewed a draft pleading or participated in discussions to formulate the government’s litigating position, then I would recuse myself from a case.”  Along with the previously mentioned cases, Kagan has recused herself from Henderson v. Shinseki, Thompson v. North American Stainless, Gould v. United States, Harrington v. Richter, Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. Stewart, Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, and Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics.
Kagan’s other 11 cases from which she previously recused herself are Abbott v. United States, Michigan v. Bryant, NASA v. Nelson. Flores-Villar v. Unitred States, United States v. Tohono O’odham Nation, Costco v. Omega, Staub v. Proctor Hospital, Williamson v. Mazda Motor Company of America, Sossamon v. Texas, Mayo Foundation v. United States, and Pepper v. United States.
